Akane's Past
by The Dreamers' Twilight
Summary: Ranma finds a bag containing all of Akane's most treasured memories. Akane gets kidnapped no shocker there But wait... Akane knows this guy? Why is Ranma so jealous? New twist on the story, hope you like it! RxAMy first fanfic, no flames please!
1. The Discovery

Disclaimer: I do not own Ramna ½. If I did, I would live a much happier life.

The song 'If I Had a Million Dollars plays in the Background

SHUT UP!! IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS I'D BE RICH TOO!!!

Oh yeah, the technical crap.

_BlahBlah _Thoughts. And that's all the technical crap you need! Onto the story!

"PERVERT!" A crash was heard from the upstairs.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING YOU STUPID TOMBOY!!" A few more crashes. Downstairs Kasumi was cleaning the dishes, Nabiki was developing pictures, and Genma and Soun were playing shogi. Another ordinary day in an unordinary life.

After throwing Ranma out the window, Akane sighed and flopped on her bed. Stupid Ranma. Stupid, stupid Ranma. She rolled over onto her stomach and reached out from under the bed. She pulled out a bag and sorted through it. A few hair ribbons, a few home videos, plenty of pictures, and a few other odd little objects. There was no helping it. _Stupid, worthless crap. _But she knew she would never get rid of it. Each item held a memory. She sighed and stuffed it under the bed again. She went downstairs, slipped her shoes on, and called to Kasumi that she was going out. Unknown to Akane, however, was that a certain pig-tailed boy had been watching her the whole time.

Ranma sighed as he flipped himself into her room. He might not know what Akane had been looking at, but he had a hunch that it would help him understand her a little better. She was so confusing, and he could tell he had really hurt her this time. He pulled out the bag, and began searching through the contents. He nearly burst out laughing when he saw the first item. A hair ribbon. A _PINK _hair ribbon. Tomboy, indeed. He pulled out a picture nest, of a little girl who he recognized as Akane and an older woman. Just from the face he knew it was Akane's mother. He looked up as the door swung open to reveal a shocked Akane standing in the doorway.

AN: Yay!! My first chappie is done!!!!! I'll be working on more chapters, and hopefully be able to update soon.


	2. The Aftershock

Disclaimer: Yes, yes it is true. sob I DO NOT OWN RANMA ½! Oh well!

I AM THE SERIAL BRIDE! BEWARE MY HUSBANDS! THEY WILL KICK YOUR HUSBANDS A!!!

Akane's breathing became labored. "What the hell do you think you're doing in my room?" Ranma paled. "Akane, I…." "Never mind! I don't even want to know. Better question. What are you doing with _that_?" Her voice was so soft it was practically a whisper, and yet to Ranma the noise was deafening. She had screwed up again. Except this was worse. Way worse. "Nothing!!" He dropped the picture like it was on fire. Akane moved to the side of her door and pointed towards the hallway. "Get. Out." Wait, she wasn't going to hit him? Scream at him? Call him names? "Damn it Ranma, get out!" She stared at him as tears of rage spilled from her eyes. Ranma started walking towards the door, feeling the guilt tug at his conscience. He stepped into the hallway and turned around. "Akane, I-" The door slammed in his face. He trudged upstairs and lay down on his futon. His fathers snoring was quieter than usual, or maybe that was simply his thought drowning him out.

_Whenever you're around her you hurt her._

_You don't deserve her._

_You'll only make her cry, and you know it._

_But you're too selfish to give her up. To let her be happy._

_Too selfish to let someone who will treat her right step in and replace you. _

_Too selfish to admit you're wrong._

_Too selfish to admit that you love her._

Ranma tossed and turned for about an hour before getting up, creeping around his father, and climbing out the window. He hung upside down, watching Akane. So complicated, so hard to understand, so overdramatic. But for all her flaws, he saw nothing but her perfection. That's all anyone ever saw of her. The creeps at school, Ryouga, Kuno….. They had no issues admitting how truly flawless she was anyway. He watched her as she sobbed into her pillow, knowing that it was probably his fault, he had betrayed her trust, betrayed her. He sighed, crawled back through his windows, and went downstairs. He stood outside her door before gently knocking on her door. "Yes?" The voice was quiet, and somehow…. Broken? He prayed he was mistaken. "It's me. Can I come in?" "It's late. You should be in bed." He sighed. That meant no. Hell no, maybe. He began to turn around when he heard Akane scream. Ranma ran in the room, but Akane was nowhere to be found. He jumped out her window, after all, the bastard who grabbed her couldn't have gone too far. But neither the guy nor Akane was anywhere to be found.

AN: Stupid? Corny? Oh well, I'll improve with practice. Review please!!!


	3. Akane's OldNew Best Friend

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Ranma ½.

Naturally, everyone else in the household heard the commotion. Soun saw the empty room and burst into tears, Kasumi went to comforting her father, and Nabiki went back to bed mumbling about the fact that she needed more sleep. Ranma jumped through the window a minute after that and immediately Soun went from tears to rage.

"RANMA SAOTOME!! YOU GO FIND HER RIGHT NOW!!!"

Ranma glared at him. "Where the hell do you think I've been? I can't find her alright??" Ranma's father chose that moment to come in. "He'll never be able to find her tonight. Everyone should go back to sleep and the boy will find her in the morning." Soun seemed to agree with this, and although Ranma wasn't happy, he knew it would be easier in the morning.

Later that night

Ranma couldn't sleep. He knew he wouldn't be able to. Finally giving up, he went back down to Akane's room too check out that bag. He sat down on her bed and started pouring out the bags contents. He didn't really understand why she kept most of the things in the bag, but there were a few interesting things. A picture caught his eye. Akane and a boy he didn't recognize, with their arms around each others shoulders, both appearing to be extremely happy. Akane looked to be about fourteen in the picture, and the boy the same age. Ranma decided he didn't like this boy. He didn't like this boy at all

Akane

Akane squirmed in her captor's arms until he finally let her go. He took her blindfold off and locked the door. The light was off, so Akane's sight was limited, but it seemed to her they were in a basement of some sort. Angrily, she turned to her captor. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't let me go." "Yes, I don't doubt the fact that you could easily have, as you say, 'kicked my ass' had I not taken you by surprise." Alright, given the many times Akane had been kidnapped, she had heard a lot of crazy things. Not much surprised her anymore, but this news made her do a rather large face fault. "Graceful as ever, 'Kane." The boy turned a lamp on and took his mask off. A familiar face, a familiar voice, how could she have been so stupid? "Kyle!!" Her anger melted into happiness at seeing the face of her old friend. She hugged him tightly before stepping away and malleting him to the ground. "Shoulda seen that one coming," Kyle groaned. "And I thought you were happy to see me." "I am happy to see you! But what was the big idea of you kidnapping me? My family's probably worried sick." "They'll survive. And I wanted to talk to you before everyone knew I was back in town. Think you can handle that?" Akane peered at her friend. "What, don'tcha trust me?" The goofy grin she had come to know was plastered on his face. "Alright, talk. But you better hurry, if Ranma finds me here HE'S the one you're gonna have to worry about kicking your ass."

Author Note: Yay! Another chapter done! Sorry the first two are so short, and thus I am slowly trying to make them longer. I'll update again soon!


	4. The Makings Of A Conversation

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.

**Ranma**

Ranma woke as soon as the sun rose. He left a note saying he had gone to look for Akane and he would be back later. He walked out to the koi pond, stretched, and began his roof-hopping expedition.

**Akane**

"So what do you want to talk about?" Akane said curiously. She had been happy to see him, but he must have been worried about something to 'kidnap' her. Kyle smiled.

"Lemme go get some tea. Believe me, you don't want a snack. As soon as mum gets her hands on you, she'll be force-feeding you for hours." And with that, Kyle disappeared upstairs. Akane turned the normal lights on. Kyle had only turned on an oil lamp. With the room properly illuminated, she could see nothing had changed. The basement had always been their hangout. Pictures, posters, the odd drawing or magazine clip out, the room was positively cluttered.

Just as we left it…… 

Akane's memories were disrupted when another boy came into the room. She didn't even have to turn around to tell who it was. "Hello, Justin." Her tone was annoyed, but Justin could tell she was just kidding. "Hey dweeb. What's up?" She turned around and took in Justin's 'Look of the Month.' It was currently goth, with his hair dyed black. His once wavy hair was now strait, and he was wearing a plain black tee with ripped up jeans. "Nice clothes." Anybody could have been able to tell she was teasing him.

"Dweeb."

"Dork"

"Freak"

"Brat"

Justin sighed. He was running out of insults. Lucky for him, his brother walked in as he was walking out. Kyle smiled. "I see you were being friendly to the local natives. You should watch out, he's very primitive." Akane smiled back. "Yeah, your basement is just full of dangers." Kyle sat down on the ripped up old couch and gestured for Akane to sit down. She did.  
Kyle sighed. "All right, I guess you're wondering what was so important that you couldn't get your beauty sleep that you so desperately need." Akane threw the pillow at him. "Yeah, something like that."

"Well, I was just kinda wonderin'…… I mean, hows things with you and Ranma going?" Akane frowned. "All right, I guess."

"It's just that some of your letters…. Seemed kinda…. Depressed."

"Well, we're still having fights on occasions but-" Akane's sentence was cut short when Ranma came into the room.


	5. Mrs Peach

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.

Ranma stared open-mouthed at Akane. Not only did she seem perfectly comfortable in this environment, she was sitting there _drinking tea! _There was only one logical conclusion. He had brainwashed her. All right, so it wasn't THAT logical. But he really did not want to consider the other options. So he did what he did best. He made a perfectly normal decision. He decided to kick the guys ass. Unfortunately, before he could begin his assault, Akane stood up and walked over to him. "Ranma, this is a _friend _of mine. At the moment I realize you probably wanna pummel him, but how about you go home and I'll be there in awhile? I'll explain everything, I promise." Ranma looked at her as if she was clinically insane. "Are you kidding me? Yeah, like I'm gonna leave you with a guy I don't know ALONE IN HIS BASEMENT!!!" Ranma did not have a chance to continues because a plump woman who looked about mid-40's came into the room. "Now you all listen here. I'm sure Akane and Kyle are tired, so how about we let them sleep for a while? You can stay here until she wakes up? That seems like it would work for everyone." Kyle was about to protest when the woman fixed him with a stern glare. "I'm sure whatever you and Akane have to talk about can wait until tomorrow. Now Kyle, you go sleep in your bedroom. Akane, dear, do you mind sleeping down here on the couch?"

"Not at all."

"Then it's settled. Ranma, was it? Yes, come along…." Before Ranma knew what was happening, he was being whisked up a flight of stairs and into a kitchen. The kitchen was a bit messy, with pots and pans lying around the counter. She ushered him into a seat at the counter. "Hungry? I just made some cookies." Ranma, you had never in his life turned down cookies, nodded eagerly. She made him a plate of cookies and sat down. "Well, I suppose you're curious as to how my son and Akane know each other. It's actually quite an interesting story, and a long one at that, so before I begin in there anything you need?" Ranma shook his head. "Well, then introductions first. I am Mrs. Peach. The boy who you saw in the basement was my son, Kyle." A gothic boy walked into the kitchen and started rummaging around in the fridge. "And this is my other son, Justin." Justin seemed to give up and began filling a cup with water.

"Hey."

Ranma sighed. Before the story began, he needed to know something. "Mrs. Peach? Did Kyle and Akane ever…. You know… Date?" Justin, who had been taking a drink of water, sprayed it back out into the sink and began choking on it. Mrs. Peach thumped him on the back and he began laughing. "DATE?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??" Mrs. Peach threw him a look of disdain. "Well, how was he supposed to know, Justin?" She turned her attention back to Ranma. "No they never dated. Akane was practically part of the family. It would have been, to say the least, extremely awkward."

Ranma sighed and thought for a moment. Then he gasped and pointed at Justin. "Then YOU must have dated her!" Justin pretended to gasp. "Oh my god, you're right! After all that makes _perfect_ sense!" He shook his head. "Honestly, I've never met anyone so thick. No, I never dated Akane." He spoke as if speaking to a five year old. Mrs. Peach glared at her oldest child. "Justin, go check on your sister." After Justin left the room, Mrs. Peach turned to Ranma. "I also have a daughter, named Ally. She's only 5, but she is bursting with energy. Now, where was I? Oh yes, Akane. Sweet girl. Well, anyway, I suppose I should start at the beginning. I was Akane's mother's best friend in high school. Her other daughters never took to me very well, but Akane always wanted to come over. She and Kyle have been playing together since they were in diapers." Ranma conjured a mental picture of Akane hitting a poor little boy with a rubber mallet. He had to use most of his will power not to laugh. Mrs. Peach seemed not to notice as she continued. "After her mother died, poor little Akane was heart broken. She started coming over here as often as she could. Her father never really cared for me, so she usually came over alone. All her birthdays, quite a few holidays, almost any big party she wanted to have, they were all over here." Mrs. Peach smiled as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Which is why you'll see pictures of her around the house. As I said before, she's always been part of the family. And my daughter simply adores her." Mrs. Peach turned to face him. "Anything else you need to know?" Ranma shook his head. "No, thanks for all your help Mrs. Peach." She took the plate that had once been covered in cookies and placed it in the sink. "No problem, dearie."

Author's Note: I wanted to show a bit of a soft side of Akane, but I think that'll happen more in the future. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Ally makes her appearance next chapter! YAY! I LOVE ALLY!!!

Sarrin's note: meh…Ally is hyper… so much splat…..


	6. Leaving The Peaches

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.

Akane sat up on the couch and stretched. She had to think for a moment to remember why she was in the basement. She turned on the light and looked around again, taking a closer look for any changes to the old hangout.

_Nothing's changed since the last time I was here._

The old pictures, the ripped up posters, the ugly makeshift curtains which they both agreed to replace but never got around to the chore, even the stupid pillow they had made in art class as partners.

_Uncomfortable as hell, too._

She sat down on the carpeted ground to look at the bookshelf. All her favorites were there, all those stupid books they had collected over the years, and of course, Ally's favorite bedtime stories. She heard a creak on the stairs and turned to see who had come down.  
"Akane, what are you doing here?" A small girl of five was rubbing her eyes sleepily. She walked over and sat on Akane's lap. "Nothing, Ally. I came over in the middle of the night." Ally was holding her teddy bear. The girl was waking up though, and soon she would be at full energy.

"Can we go somewhere today?"

"Maybe. How about we go upstairs and get you some breakfast?" Ally nodded her consent.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Akane was surprised (and a little angered,) to find Ranma was still there. Didn't he trust her? Ally let go of Akane's hand and went to sit on a stool.  
Ranma tilted her head at the little one. "Hello. What's your name?"  
"Ally." The girl grumbled.

Ranma smiled at her uncomfortably. "She looks tired. Maybe you should give her some sugar or somthin'?"

"NOO!!" Three voices screamed in his ear. Akane calmed first.

"You don't want to give her any extra energy. Trust me." Ranma looked around as if expecting someone to attack him. "Why??"

"Just trust me."

"Whatever you say, 'Kane." Ranma looked at the clock. "We should probably go home now. You're dad's probably cryin' his eyes out by now." Mrs. Peach looked angry for the first time. "Yes, you're beloved and oh, so wonderful father. I'm so _SURE_ he's worried sick." Akane shot her a look. A look Ranma didn't quite understand. Not the angry glare he had become so accustomed to, but there was an anger there, no doubt. Mrs. Peach turned to talk to him and plastered a smile on her face. "Come back anytime, Ranma. And Akane, I'll see you later tonight?"

"Absolutely."

"Great. I'll tell Kyle you said goodbye."

_While walking home…._

Ranma had decided to walk beside Akane instead of on the fence. "Are you sure there's nothing goin' on between you two?" Ranma had asked her that exact question many times, and quite frankly it was getting on her nerves. "Don't you think I would know if I was?"

Ranma glared at her. "Not that I care. After all, who would wanna date a stupid, uncute, tomboy like you?"

"RANMA WOULD YOU JUST SHOVE IT?!?!" Ranma looked over in surprise at the now extremely upset Akane. Her shoulders were shaking and he felt a gnawing guilt in the pit of his stomach. "Akane, listen…" Shampoo picked a very wrong moment to drop in. "Nihoa, Airen!!" Ukyou apparently had been passing by as well. "Hey Ranchan!!" Of course, this only fueled Akane's fire. She started walking in another direction. "Ranma, just tell Kasumi where I was when you get home, ok?" She broke out into a full out run until she disappeared from sight. Shampoo and Ukyou chose that moment to glomp on Ranma. His anger got the better of him. "Will you two GET OFF?!?!" He shook them off forcefully. "When will you get it through you're thick heads that I don't want to go on a date??" He started to follow the path Akane had taken, leaving the two stunned girls in his wake.

About an hour later… 

Akane sat under an oak near a cliff where she could see the water. ((A/N: Is there water near Nerima? Oh well…)) True, she couldn't swim. Never had been able to grasp the concept and probably never would. But she was still drawn to the cool peacefulness of the seas. She didn't understand it, because the truth is that nothing was more enjoyably to her than burning candles. She liked Fire far more than water, but on days like this when she needed to escape reality, she would just lose herself in the empty waves. She had sat under this oak many times before. It was her favorite tree to think under. Its leaves seemed to beckon to her. She had only confessed about her favorite tree to a few people, and she had only ever shown it to one person. Kyle. Probably because when she told him about the tree, he didn't laugh at her. Akane was jolted out of her thoughts by a crunching noise behind her. She turned and saw Ranma standing under a different tree. "What are you doing here 'Kane? Your father wouldn't let me stay at home until you came back. Awful selfish of you." There was a twinge of annoyance behind it, but no real anger. That somewhat surprised her. "I need some time to think. Go get dinner from Ukyou or Shampoo and I'll be home before you finish."

"Aww… C'mon Akane… tell me whats up." Akane looked at him, surprised. Ranma panicked.  
"Not that I care! It's just that you're dad won't let me in until you're back, and if I get caught not searchin'…." Akane sighed.

"I'll come home and let everyone know where I was. Then I'll leave again. That way, you can go home and _I'll _get some piece and quiet."

Akane stood up, brushed herself off, and started walking towards home.

"Ok…. Are ya' sure ya don't wanna talk about it?"

"Positive."

"Ok….'Cuz ya know, 'Kane, even though I know it doesn't seem like it…" Ranma blushed. "Ya can talk to me. I mean, if ya want to. I mean, I guess we're kinda friends, right?" Akane gave him one of her rare smiles.  
"Sure, Ranma. I guess you could call us friends." Ranma blushed furiously.  
"Well, I guess we should be goin' home now! Yeah, everyone's bound to be worried about you and ya know how you're dad gets…"

Akane smiled again. "I guess we should."

_At home….._

"YOU WERE _WHERE_?!?!?!" Ranma was actually surprised by Mr. Tendou's reaction. He had expected him to be overjoyed when he saw Akane. Instead, he was shaking in anger. And, also unexpectedly, Akane was keeping her cool.

"You heard me daddy. I was at Kyle's."

"YOU MADE US THINK YOU WERE KIDNAPPED SO YOU COULD SPEND TIME WITH THOSE LOW-LIFES?!?!" Ranma sighed.

_And here comes Akane's temper._

Naturally, Akane began to fume.  
"THEY ARE NOT LOW-LIFES, DAD! AND I DIDN'T TRY TO MAKE YOU THINK I HAD BEEN KIDNAPPED! KYLE CAME AND NEEDED TO TALK TO ME ABOUT SOMETHING BEFORE EVERYONE KNEW HE WAS BACK IN TOWN!"

Kasumi decided to step in. "Now daddy, Where Akane was is her business. Although…" She gave Akane a stern look. "I think you should have told us where you were." Akane sighed. "Well, id you're all done, I'm going back out." She began to walk and Ranma began to follow her.

"What's the matter, Ranma? Doncha trust me?" She gave him a smile, but not a genuine one. It was a superior smile, as if saying that she had won. Ranma scoffed.

"Like I care what you do. You're dad would make me anyway, so why not save us all time?" Akane became visibly annoyed.

"Fine. Come on."

A/N: YAY!!! ANOTHER CHAPPIE DONE! Thank you to all who've reviewed!!! And thank you to a few of my friends who helped me get over my writers block! ANYWAY…. Still working on making my chapters longer. PLEASE REVIEW!!


	7. A Chat with Justin

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.

Akane sighed. Ranma just _had _to come with her. Then again, she was kind of enjoying his company. He hadn't insulted her yet, at least. But she still would have liked to be alone. The thoughts running through her head were blocking out any concentration she had, so the conversation between Ranma and herself was limited.

_God, you're such an idiot sometimes, Akane._

_How do you expect anyone to know what you want if you don't know yourself?_

_Why can't you act like a normal human being?_

_What's the matter with me?_

_Why CAN'T I be normal?_

_Why can't I just act girly sometimes?_

"Akane."

_Is it me?_

_Is it just not possible for me to act like a regular person?_

"Akane?"

I hate to say it, but Ranma's right. I am a stupid, uncute- 

"AKANE!"

Akane was startled out of her chain of thoughts. Just as well, she didn't like where they were taking her. Ranma was standing in front of her, waving his hand in front of her face. He visibly relaxed after she moved.

"What happened? You stopped all the sudden and just stood there." Even though he had calmed down considerably, he still looked awfully worried. Akane was slightly touched by this. He was worried? About her? In a strange way, it made her insanely happy.

"Sorry, Ranma. I guess I just kinda lost it." Ranma was obviously not happy with her explanation, but decided to drop it.

"You're telling me." He grumbled. Akane couldn't resist. "Ranma, you weren't _worried _about me, were you?" Ranma flushed.

"NO! It's just you spaced out and it was weird, ya know?" Ranma's face turned serious. "If you had kept walking and hadn't been paying attention, you coulda walked in the road or somethin'. And then I'd have to save you." Akane turned angry. "Well, if it's such a pain in you butt to save me, then don't!" Ranma nearly fell over a this. "Then who is, you stupid tomboy? You're obviously not capable of taking care of yourself. Face it," Ranma smirked, "You need me."  
All right, due to the fact Ranma had not insulted her, Akane had been trying very hard not to lose her temper. However, this line threw her over the top.

"NEED YOU! I'M NOT THE KINDA GIRL TO NEED ANYONE, LET ALONE A STUCK UP CREEP LIKE YOU!" Akane was way passed annoyed. She was in a full out rage. She didn't even _want_ to hit him. She just wanted to get away from him. So she took off running towards the one place she knew she would be welcome. Kyle's place.

Ranma just stood there for a few moments after Akane ran away. He had been kinda harsh on her. He sighed and started walking after her. Not like he didn't know where she was going.

Akane reached Kyle's house in record time. She burst through the doors without so much as a single knock. She couldn't find anyone, and was starting to get desperate. She decided to knock on Justin's door. If she wasn't so unhappy, she probably would have hit herself over the head. She had never been so desperate that she had to go to _JUSTIN_ for help. She knocked tentatively at first, then picked up speed. "Justin, you in there?" The door opened. "Hey dweeb, what are ya doing here? Mum and Kyle went out." Justin's persona went from egotistical to concern. "Hey, 'Kane, what's up? You look like hell." It was just then that Akane realized how upset she was. "Do you know when they'll be back?" Justin shrugged. "It's mum. Who knows? But if you want you can hang out here with me." He smiled jokingly. "I mean, you're still a dweeb. But you're a pretty cool dweeb." All right, so she didn't give Justin enough credit. She made a mental note to work on that. They were always teasing each other, but he really was like a big brother to her. Justin snapped her back out of her thoughts. "You wanna talk about it." Akane nodded. They went downstairs, where Akane settled on the couch and Justin plopped into a chair.

"It's just that…. Don't you ever just get sick of it all?" Akane sighed. "Me and Ranma…. Sometimes I wonder if it'll ever work. I mean, he's got two other gorgeous fiancés, and I'm just plain old Akane." She sighed again. "I'm just so tired of it all, ya know?" Justin looked at her. It was rare that she saw him like this. Now that she thought about it, Justin reminded her slightly of Ranma. Well, Justin was like her brother and Ranma…. Well, Ranma was hardly like her older brother, to say the least.

"First of all, you're hardly just Akane." He looked out the window. "Everyone feels like giving up sometimes. I'm sure even your precious Ranma does. But the point is you've never been one for giving up. And as far as the other fiancés go…" He grinned at her. "Well, are you really gonna let yourself lose to a couple of bimbos?" Akane grinned despite herself. There were times when she would kill to find out she was really part of this family. Justin, despite his annoying tactics, stupid pranks, and truly horrible jokes, really did make her feel better. Justin went back to his normal act of being egotistical and, well, Justin. "Now you go find what's-his-name, and you tell him exactly what you told me. If you don't…" He glared at her, "I'm gonna tell all my jokes to _all_ your friends." Akane feigned mock horror. "No, not that! All right, I'm leaving." She turned back in the doorway. "Hey Justin?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." And with that she went out to find a certain egotistical, annoying, and extremely adorable fiancé.

_**Near by the dojo….**_

Ranma spotted Akane. She didn't look angry, but….

_Better play it safe anyway._

"H-Hey Akane. Where have you been?" Ranma seriously felt like smacking himself. Where have you been?

C'mon, Saotome, you can do better than that! 

"Nowhere, Ranma."

"Well, I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean what I said back there.

You're right. You can take care of yourself." Ranma had turned an interesting shade of red. Akane was smiling at him, though. Good sign?

"No, Ranma, you were right. With how spaced out I was, it was probably a good thing you were with me." She looked around. "Hey, Ranma, wanna go somewhere? Just you and me?" Ranma, while turning more red by the minute, could only nod. And, to Akane's surprise, when they started walking, Ranma jumped off the fence, and took her hand. He looked over at her, probably to make sure she wasn't going to pummel him, but she just smiled. Had anyone seen them, they probably would have been very, very confused. But at the moment, the young couple simply did not care.

A.N.: YAY! SO HYPER! Anyway, another chapter done, and I am trying to work in some Romance. I'll update as soon as possible. Thank you to all who reviewed, and to those who haven't, please do!


	8. Clash With Kyle

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.

Akane sighed. Things had been, well, _awkward _between her and Ranma since that day. Nothing had happened. They hadn't fought, and Ranma had actually been nice to her. She was honestly surprised about that. Happy, but surprised. But since that day, Ranma had been flat out ignoring her. He responded to everyone else, but for some reason, every time she tried to strike up a conversation, he promptly found something else to do. There were so many questions to ask, and honestly, she wasn't even angry with Ranma. She was sad. Sad and disappointed. What if Ranma had been testing her? What if he had meant for the whole night to be a joke, but his rule against hurting girls wouldn't allow him to tell her that when he saw how happy she was? What if-

"Akane?"

Akane rolled over on her bed to face the doorway, where Kasumi stood. "Yes, Kasumi?"

"Could you run a few errands for me? I would go myself, but I have to prepare a few things for supper tonight."

"No problem."

Kasumi smiled. "Thank you. Say, why don't you ask Ranma to go with you? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Akane, who had begun to brush her hair and put on better looking clothes, sighed. "C'mon Kasumi, you know he won't talk to me. He hasn't for a couple days now."

Kasumi frowned. "Just ask him, Akane. Surely if you ask politely…."  
Akane sighed, exasperated. "Fine, I'll ask him. I'll even ask him _politely_. But I'm telling you, he won't talk to me."

"Ask him. I'm almost positive he'll agree." With that, Kasumi exited her sister's room. _This should get interesting…"_

**_Meanwhile_**

Kyle answered the phone at his house. "Hello?"

"Hello, may I speak to Kyle?" The voice was definitely feminine, but definitely not Akane's. And what other girl would be calling him?

"Speaking."

"Oh, hello Kyle. This is Kasumi, Akane's sister. She is going to the market, and I was wondering if you could meet her there. She and Ranma haven't been talking lately, and I…"

"Sure, of course I'll meet 'Kane there."

"Thank you so much, Kyle. She's leaving now, so anytime you're ready."

"All right. Well, goodbye then."

Kyle hung up the phone. Being friends with Akane for as long as he had, he had learned to expect pretty strange things from her family. This, however, most definitely took the cake.

**_Back at the Tendou's_**

Akane knocked tentatively on Ranma's door. "Ranma? It's Akane. Look, I realize you're probably mad at me or something, but Kasumi wants me to go to the market and I was wondering if you'd like to come too." Akane stood there for a few minutes, not really expecting a response, but as she turned to leave, Ranma came out of his room. "You ready?" His voice was more gruff than usual, but Akane was happy to hear it again.

"Yeah."

"Then let's go."

As they made it outside, Akane took notice that he had taken to walking on the fence again.

_Not really all that surprising… I wonder why he decided to forgive me._

But little did they know, Kasumi had watched them walk out together. She smiled.

_I knew he'd come around. I hate to do this to you Ranma, but you need a wake up call. And something tells me Kyle is just the right person to do it._

_**At the Market…**_

Akane read Kasumi's list again. Why had she sent her out for these things? Akane knew for a fact that Kasumi already had plenty of these, and they weren't on sale. Ranma was keeping his distance. Far enough away so no one could tell they were together, but still not letting her out of his sight. Suddenly Ranma was beside her. Akane was very confused.

"What's going on, Ranma?"

Ranma didn't answer. Just then…

"Hey 'Kane!" Akane turned around to see Kyle running towards her. She smirked. Well, that explained Ranma.

"Hey Kyle. What's up?"

"Nothin'." He glanced at Ranma. "Hello."

"Hey," Ranma said gruffly.  
Kyle smirked. "Aww, what's wrong Ranma? Something up between you and one of your many fiancés?"  
Ranma glared at him. "Yeah. The uncute one you're standing next to. Why are you here?"  
"To make sure nothing happens to Akane."

"What's that supposed to mean? I can beat any loser who tries to hurt Akane."

"What about the loser walking with her?

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT!"

"I KNOW ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE MORE LIKE THE GUYS YOU SUPPOSEDLY SAVE HER FROM THAN YOU THINK!"

"OH YEAH! YOU'RE NOT EVEN WORTH MY TIME YOU WORTHLESS SON OF A" Ranma never finished the sentence. A giant mallet had landed on him and Kyle.

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU! I DON'T NEED YOU TWO TO LOOK AFTER ME EVERY MOMENT! I CAN HANDLE MYSELF!" And with that she stormed off, leaving a crowd of confused people behind. Kyle turned to look at Ranma. He smiled weakly.

"Truce?" Kyle held out his hand. Ranma eyed it for a moment, before taking it.

"Truce."

_**About An Hour Later…**_

Kyle and Ranma were sitting in the park. They both had ice packs on their heads. They sighed. Ranma turned to glance at Kyle.

"By the way, what did you mean back there when you said I was more like the guys I protect Akane from than I think?" Kyle sighed.

"Well, you do hurt her. I'd say that's a common characteristic."  
Ranma became extremely angry in record time. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'D NEVER HURT AKANE!"

Kyle glanced at him. "Calm down. I wasn't accusing you. I know you don't purposely try to hurt her. I'm just sayin' you need to think about what you're gonna say before you say it."

Ranma thought for a moment, then got up. "I'd better get going. My guess is Akane's mad and she ain't getting any happier." Kyle got up as well. "I'd better be going to. Mum'll have a fit if I'm not home soon."

Ranma smiled. "Thanks for the advice Kyle."

Kyle looked at him. "She really loves you, ya know."

"What!"

"Yeah. And if you tell her I told you, I'll deny it. But she really does. So just know, I didn't do this for you. I did it for her. Despite what you may or may not think, I don't want to steal her from you. She's my best friend. I just wanna see her happy." Kyle smirked at him. "But if you tell her I said any of that, I'll tell her you're crazy."

Ranma said his goodbyes and started towards home. There were a lot of things he wanted to tell a certain girl.

A/N: I'm SOOO Sorry it took my so long. I got sick and then we had tests and…. Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed. I appreciate the advice.


	9. The Confession

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½. I really wish I did.

music starts playing in the background _All I want for Christmas is the copyrights to Ranma ½, to Ranma ½, to Ranma ½. All I want for Christmas is the copyrights…_

Ranma ran home at top speed. When he got there, he was panting heavily but he managed to call for Akane. Kasumi was just walking out.

"Oh, Ranma. I was just going to see a friend. Our fathers are out for the night, and Nabiki's disappeared somewhere. It'll just be you and Akane for a few days. If you need anything, I left a list of phone numbers on the fridge."

And before Ranma could say anything, Kasumi was out the door.

_Great. A few days with Akane. _

_NO! This is a good thing. I will not blow this!_

And with that, he slowly headed up the stairs to Akane's room.

_**In Akane's Room…**_

Akane was writing in her diary when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called out.

Ranma tentatively opened the door.

"Hey, 'Kane. What's up?"

"Nothing Ranma. Need anything?"  
Ranma hesitated. "N-no, I just wanted to talk to y-you."

Akane smiled tiredly at Ranma. "Ok, shoot."

Ranma flushed.

_NOT HERE! I NEED A MUTUAL SPACE! But where to go? THE ROOF! OF COURSE!_

"Let's go on the roof," Ranma said hurriedly. Akane opened her mouth to say something, but Ranma had already scooped her up and jumped out the window. Akane gasped at the sudden chill of the night air. Ranma landed on the roof and sighed.

_You still have a chance to back out._

Ranma fought back that annoying little voice.

_NO! I AM NOT GOING TO MESS THIS UP!_

"Uh, Ranma?"  
Ranma snapped back to reality. Akane was staring at him awkwardly.

"You okay?"

Ranma realized with a blush he had been muttering his strange internal conflict.

"Y-yeah."

Akane gave him another strange glance and then resumed watching the stars. Ranma slid a little closer to her and cursed himself inwardly. The roof? The night was already cooling down and Akane was wearing a lightweight pair of pajamas.

_Now or never, Saotome._

"Akane, there's something I want to talk to you about." Akane smiled drowsily at him and began to shiver. "Yes, Ranma?"

Ranma shifted so that he was behind her and rubbed her arms a bit. She rested against him with a sigh.

"Akane, I just wanted you to know that, well, I've really g-gotten to know you since I moved here and I know I aint made life easy, what with all the kidnappers and attackers and crap like that. But Akane, I just w-wanted you to know that..." He hesitated. But he WAS NOT going to back down.

_Not this time._

"Akane, I l-love you!" The words came out in a rush. For a moment, Akane didn't say anything. Ranma became panicky. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if Kyle was wrong? What if-

"I love you too." Akane was barely whispering, but to Ranma it was loud and clear. Ranma turned to look at her and smiled. They leaned down to kiss and…

((If I were mean I would end it here. But I won't!))

"What are you doing with my Ranchan?"

"Airen! We go back to China now, yes?"

"Ranma darling! Get away from that hussy!"

Ranma groaned inwardly. Akane was tired and even though she could take on one or even two at a time, all three would be too much for her. He hated to break his rule about hitting girls, especially Ucchan, but if it came down to Akane's safety or his stupid rules, Akane would win every time. But they had to find out sometime.

"Listen, all three of you. I'm real sorry an' all, but I chose Akane." He dropped into a fighting stance as he expected them all to attack at once, but they just stood there.

"You mean you picked _her_-"

"The Kitchen destroyer-"

"The un-cute one"

"OVER US?"

Ranma winced. This was gonna be a long night.

Author's note:  
SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG! I've had a lot going on. I'll try to be more faithful until this story is finished. ((Even though I don't think anyone's reading it anymore.))


	10. Interrupted!

Disclaimer: Do I really have to type this every time? Everyone knows I don't own Ranma ½. If I did, would I really be writing fan fiction? HELL NO I WOULDN'T!

Ranma held up his hands in a defensive manner. "Okay, now everyone just calm down."

The three girls glared at him.

"CALM DOWN!

Akane flinched. "Listen you guys-,"

They turned to glare at her. They were all thinking the same thing.

_If I get rid of her, he'll surely love me._

All three advanced on her in a combined attack. Ukyou was using her spatula, Kodachi was using her rose whip, and Shampoo seemed to just want to kill Akane with her bare hands. Ranma scooped Akane up and leaped out of the way. Shampoo seemed to be the first to react.

"Airen put down that hussy now, or Shampoo rip out of Airen's hands!" Ranma gave the saying 'If looks could kill' a new definition. Ranma set Akane down gently behind him, then glared daggers at the three girls.

_Oops._

"You will not lay a hand on 'Kane!" Ranma's voice was low and menacing, and had an icy tone to it that made even Akane shudder. Akane stood up and attempted to stand near Ranma, but he gave her a look which spoke for itself.

_Stay there. They need to hear this from me._

"Ranchan, listen to me. You're making a stupid decision. I don't think you're thinking this through. She can't cook, she's violent, she's a klutz-,"

"And if you say one more thing about her, friend or no, I swear I'll throw you out of here, Ukyou."  
Ukyou shrank back.

_He must be really pissed off to use my real name._

_Maybe he really does love her. _

_Either way, if I continue, I'll lose him forever._

With one last glare at Akane, she turned.

"I'll be back, Ranma. I promise you that."

Akane shuddered at the words. They were so coldly spoken!

"Spatula-girl may not want to fight, but Shampoo WILL have Airen!" Just as she began her attack, Mousse appeared out of no where and knocked her out. ((A.N.: I KNOW, I KNOW, It's lame, but I couldn't think of how to get rid of Shampoo! I'm too tired to write out a battle scene. It will come, but I want more WAFF first. Apologies for the lameness. ))

Mousse sighed. "I apologize. Shampoo should realize she will never have you. I will try to convince Cologne to drive it through her stubborn head." And with that, he turned and left. And, of course, Ranma had absolutely no issues with throwing Kodachi of the roof, and, as far as he could tell, fairly close to her mansion.

_Crazy bitch._  
Ranma turned to Akane.

"You ok?"

Akane nodded. She was a little shaken, but attempted a smile.

"That was weird." Ranma cracked a smile as well.

"Agreed." And with that, Ranma scooped her up and set her on her bed.

"Thanks Ranma."

He blushed. "No problem."

Just then, the phone rang. Akane answered. "Hello? Oh, hi Kyle!" Ranma groaned. Even though he realized Kyle didn't love Akane in that particular way, he was still a little jealous.

_I mean, there are things that he knows about Akane that I may never know. It's only natural I be a bit jealous._

When Akane finally hung up the phone, she came to talk to Ranma.  
"Kyle just asked if we wanted to go to the amusement park tomorrow. He and Justin are taking Ally. Want to go?"

In all honesty, Ranma did very much not want to go. But he knew no matter what, that Akane would be going, and he would rather be with her than let her go alone.

"Sure. Better than hanging around the dojo all day, I suppose."

Akane grinned, obviously a little relieved. She had suspected Ranma wouldn't want to go, and, even more so, not want her to go.

"Great! We leave at 9 tomorrow!" She yawned.

"Well, we better get some sleep. Night Ranma!"

"Night 'Kane."

A.N.: Yahoo! I'm sooooooo sorry it's been taking so long. But I'm working on the next chappie right now, so don't worry. Sorry if this chapter is lame, but next chapter should be funny! Oh, and BTW, to all who reviewed thanx for pointing out the mistakes! I think I fixed 'em all! Wait till you see Ally at full force! Buh-Bye!


	11. The Amusement Park!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Ranma ½.

It was bright and sunny that day. Ranma was walking behind Akane, watching in stunned silence. Who knew that a five year old could have so much ENERGY! It was actually a little scary. Ally was bouncing up and down on her toes, alternating asking question between Akane, Kyle, and Justin. Akane and Kyle humored her, but Justin generally replied with "I really wish I wasn't here." And then Ally would begin to pout and kick him in the shin. **_Hard._** That kid had the brute strength of Akane, or Akane at age five anyway. Eventually, Ally got bored and hopped over to him.

"Hi, I'm Ally. You're Ranma right? Anyway, I've got a few questions. Why do you live with Akane? Are you going to marryher?Whydoyoualwayswearthesameshirt?Whydoyouhaveabraidthatseemskindagirlyforaboybuti'mnotsayingyou'regirlyi'mjustsayingthatit'skindafunnyyouknowandanywaywhoreallycaresifitsgirlyipersonallylikebraidsevenifmeanlittleboyspullonthembutthenipullontheirearsandiftheteachercatchesmeijustsaytheystarteditandputonmycutepuppydogpoutandiusuallygetawaywithitbutithinkboysarereallyannoyingandididn'tmeanthatasaninsultitsjustastatementandIactuallythinkyourekindoffuneventhoughyoudon'tsayanything." Ally said this all in one breath, with increasing speed, and Ranma feared that, had she gone on any longer, she would have suffocated herself. Akane, fortunately, came to Ranma's rescue.  
"Ally, come on sweet heart, take a breath! Look! We're almost there!" This information sent Ally into a raging fit of excitement, and she began squealing, giggling, and screaming, when she grew tired of the noise the first two actions made. Though this drew many long stares from people on the streets, the five year old seemed oblivious. When the amusement park really was in sight, the girl grew even more excited, if possible. Ranma stood a few feet from her, for fear she would hyperventilate and explode. Yes, a strange idea, but kami! What energy! Ranma leaned over and whispered to Akane.

"Is she always like this?" Akane laughed.

"Usually. Don't worry, it's healthy to have such energy at her age."

"I don't think I've ever met a kid with that much energy." Akane decided to change the subject.

"So… what do you want to do when we get there?"

Ranma looked surprised. "Don't we have to take care of the kid?"

"Not this time. See, we all take turns on these amusement park trips. I stayed with Ally last time, so this time it's Justin's turn."

"Oh, I see. Umm, I dunno, grab a bite to eat and hit some rides?"

"Sounds good to me!"

When the group finally entered the amusement park, Ally began pulling on Justin's hand.  
"Come on Justin! I wanna ride the swings andthenmaybewecouldgetasnowconeIlovesnowconesdidIevertellyouthatcuzIreallydoandthemaybewecouldridetheteacupsandspinaroundandaroundandaroundandaroundandaroundandaroundandaroundandarounduntilwepuke!Doesn'tthatsoundlikefunJustin?"

Justin glared at Akane and Kyle.

"Hey! It was your idea to take turns! 'So we won't all have to waste a day of freedom and fun'! Weren't those your exact words?"

Justin continued to glare.  
"Yeah, but that was when my look of the month was prep and I was an idiot."

Akane stuck her tongue out at him. "Took the words right out of my mouth!" Then she waved. "See ya! Try not to kill anyone!"

Ranma just watched Ally literally drag Justin to the nearest ride.  
"So… she's really always like that?"

Kyle looked at him with a 'What do you think you brainless dolt?' look. "Yeah."

Ranma's annoyance/anger sprouted at that moment.

"I was just asking!"

Kyle looked equally annoyed.

"It was a stupid question!"

"How ya figure?"

"BECAUSE IF SHE WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THAT, WOULDN"T WE BE ACTING LIKE YOU? SURPRISED?"

"WELL, MAYBE I JUST THOUGHT-"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!" Akane bellowed.

The two stopped immediately. Akane sighed and straightened her shirt.

"That's better. Why can't you two get along, just for today?"

The two boys glared at each other.

"He started it!"  
"Oh, for heavens sake! I thought we were past all this! Fine! We're finishing this right now!"

Akane dragged the two over by their ears and sat them down.  
"Now! What's your problem with one another?"

Kyle and Ranma looked at each other, surprised.  
"I don't have a problem with him," they said in unison.

Akane facefaulted.

"THEN WHY DO YOU ARGUE?"

Kyle shrugged. "Gotta keep him on his toes." He winked at her. "If he's gonna date my best friend, he's gotta behave."  
Ranma glared at Kyle, then looked up at Akane. "And he's just too friggin' annoying for his own good."

Kyle glared at Ranma.

"Well, you're no Miss Mary Sunshine either!"

Ranma smiled evilly. "Funny, I think that describes you perfectly."

Kyle made to punch Ranma, and Ranma to attack Kyle as well, but Akane grabbed them by the back of their heads and bashed their two incredibly thick skulls together.

Akane glared at them.

"I'm going to go get a snack. When I get back, you two better have this resolved, whatever 'this' is!"

And with that, she marched off, muttering about how idiotic boys were, and how much they annoyed her.

A.N.:

Hello Again! To those of you who didn't notice, I fixed the last chapter. YAY! Sorry about the mistakes. Anyway, I'm trying to keep updating regularly. Thanx to all who reviewed!


End file.
